Movable device against snoring

ABSTRACT

A device against snoring which prevents a patient from assuming a supine position but allows the patient to move between lateral positions comprises a pillow which can be positioned on the resting area of a bed or other place for sleeping. The pillow comprises a pillow element and a rigid tensioning element disposed between the pillow element and the resting area. The tensioning element protrudes laterally at both sides of the pillow element and comprises, on its protruding portions, fixation organs in each of which one of two flexible fixation means that are fastened on a upper body clothing of the patient are fixable by their free end portions. The fixation means are fastened on the clothing at areas corresponding to the left and right lateral portions, respectively, of the latissimus dorsi. Also disclosed is a corresponding upper body clothing.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a device against snoring includingsleep apnea, the device being of a kind preventing the person inquestion to assume a supine position.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Snoring not only disturbs others but constitutes also an importantmedical problem since it can lead to the provision of the breathingorgans with air being interrupted at times (apnea) and/or can generallybe deteriorated during sleep resulting in impaired oxygenation of theblood. This, in turn, may affect blood circulation, and: usually becomesevident by the person feeling tired even after a longer period of sleep.For this reason a person with tendency of snoring or one experiencingaccidental apneic episodes during sleep is called a patient.

Snoring including apnea is caused or at least promoted by the patientassuming a supine position during sleep since the root of the tongue andthe uvula then are displaced rearwards and obstruct the throat. Ameasure against snoring and apnea during sleep thus is to prevent thepatient from assuming a supine position.

In the art a number of devices are known which, by various means, seekto prevent the patient from assuming a supine position. Such a devicefor preventing the patient to turn in bed which functions well as suchis disclosed in WO 98/23188. An important drawback with this and similardevices of same kind is that they have to be fastened, in one way oranother, at the patient's bed. The bed thus must be equipped withfastening organs fixed to it, in particular to its sides. If the patientwants to sleep in another bed the fastening organs have to be dismountedand moved to the new bed. In addition, various fastening organs andfastening methods are required to allow the device being fastened atbeds of varying design and construction. In case of certain bed designsit is conceivable that fixation cannot be carried out without causingpermanent changes in the bed which reduce its value when used by personsother than the patient. To be fastened at a bed also may be experiencedin a negative manner by a patient, and this can constitute a danger incase of fire or other accident which requires the room where thepatients sleeps to be evacuated, device lacking these drawbacks thusshould be desirable.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to disclose a device for impedinga patient from turning round in bed of the kind described in thepreceding introduction but which need not be fastened to a bed.

Another object of the present invention is to disclose a device forimpeding a patient from turning round in bed described in the precedingintroduction which can be easily moved between different beds.

Further objects of the invention are evident from the followingdescription of the invention, a preferred embodiment thereof, and theattached claims.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the present invention is disclosed a device against snoringincluding sleep apnea, the device being of a kind preventing the personin question to assume a supine position but allowing the patient to movebetween lateral positions, the device comprising a pillow which can bepositioned on the resting area of a bed or other place for sleeping thepillow comprising a pillow element and a rigid tensioning elementdisposed between the pillow element and the resting area, the tensioningelement protruding laterally at both sides of the pillow element andcomprising, on its protruding portions, fixation organs in each of whichone of two flexible fixation means that are fastened on a upper bodyclothing of the patient are fixable by their free end portions. “Upperbody clothing” refers to a clothing which comprises a portion coveringthe upper part of the body or a portion of the upper part of the body.

In this patent application the term “bed” also comprises a place whereone may lay down for rest or sleep other than a bed in the traditionalmeaning of the term, for instance a mattress on the floor, a sleepingberth, an airplane seat which can be folded back so that a passenger mayrelax on it and sleep, and the like. Such places where one may lay downfor rest or sleep have real or imaginary lateral limits corresponding tothe edges of a bed; the orientation of the device according to theinvention on these places for rest or sleep corresponds to that on a bedin its traditional meaning. From this flows that the device according tothe invention is fit for being carried with when travelling; in order tofurther facilitate this the device can be carried out so as to becollapsible, which is within the reach of a person skilled in the art.“Lateral(ly)” indicates a transverse direction of the bed or place forrest.

It is preferred for the fixation means to be fastened at the clothing atareas corresponding to left and right lateral portions, respectively, ofthe latissimus dorsi. Thereby the fixation means can be easily movedunder the armpits. A fixation at the centre of the clothing only isinsufficient.

It is furthermore preferred for the fixation means to be fixable in thefixation organs in a manner allowing the length of the fixation meansportion clamped between the clothing and the fixation organs to bevaried; in particular the clamped length should be adjustable to allowthe patient to move from one lateral position to the other lateralposition via an abdominal position but not via a supine position.According to the invention the device allows the patient-him/herself tofasten the fixation means in the fixation organs while resting with hishead on the pillow, and to adjust their proper length. In doing this thepatient occupies one of the two lateral positions at start—it isimmaterial whether the lateral position chosen is the left or the rightlateral position—and fastens the right fixation means when in a rightlateral position, and vice-versa, in the right and left fixation organ,respectively, in a manner that the clamped portion is substantiallystretched; then the patient turns via an abdominal position to the otherlateral position and proceeds in a corresponding manner with the otherfixation means. If the patient wants to rise the fixation means areloosened in the opposite order. The property of the device to permit thepatient to move between lateral positions without the need to occupy anintermediary supine position is valuable from a medical standpoint andimportant in view of comfort. Thus it is preferred for the length of thefixation means to be adjustable to permit the patient to move from bothlateral positions towards the abdominal position but not towards thesupine position. The pillow element is fixable or fixed at thetensioning element. It can also be fixable or fixed at a supportelement. Preferably the pillow element is fixable or releaseably fixedat the support element to allow it to be cleaned and washed. It is alsopreferred for the pillow element to be provided, at least at its topside facing the patient, with a removable textile cover. The cushionelement maybe made of various materials provided that it substantiallykeeps its form comprising a central ridge and slanting resting areaswhen used, with the proviso that it is resiliently compressible at leastat its slanting rest areas to provide for compression of the areaagainst which the head of the patient rests. Preferably the cushionelement is made of polymer foam or comprises a core of polymer foam. Toprovide for optimal comfort the polymer foam may be arranged in severallayers of different compressibility.

According to a preferred aspect of the invention the cushion element andthe support element are releaseably fixable at each other.

According to another preferred aspect of the invention the cushioncomprises a central ridge extending in the longitudinal direction of thebed, and resting areas slanting from the central ridge towards the sidesof the cushion; it is preferred for the resting areas of the cushion toslant by an angle of from about 50° to about 20° towards the restingarea of the bed; it is also preferred for the central ridge (the centralarea of the pillow in a longitudinal direction) to be made of a materialwhich is less compressible than the rest of the pillow. For this purposethe central ridge may be carried out inflatable, for instance. Thefixation means are preferably selected from bands, ribbons, tapes,belts, and the like. The fixation organs are preferably selected fromslits, clamps, snap locks, buckles, Velcro™ tapes, and the like. Theupper-body clothing preferably is an under-vest, a vest, abody-garrnent, a harness, and the like. It is preferred for the fixationorgans to allow a continuous (not a step-wise) adjustment of the clampedlength of the fixation means, that is, of the length between thefixation on the clothing and the fixation organs. The clamped length ispreferably from about 50 cm to about 90 cm. It is important that thefixation element can be easily fastened at and released from thefixation organ. Even if the patient should be unable to quickly loosenthe fixation in case of, for instance, a fire, the fixed device wouldnot prevent the patient from leaving the bed and the room.

While the design of the device allows the head to partially turn upwardstowards a supine position when the body is in one of its extremepositions (lateral positions), it soon is forced back to a lateralposition even if the patient is sleeping. This, on the one hand, makesthe patient not feel completely fixed to the lateral position in regardof the head's movement, but, on the other hand, prevents even the headfrom occupying a supine position during sleep. As explained above thedesign of the device however allows the patient to change between aright and a left lateral position via an abdominal position.

According to a further preferred aspect of the invention means toprevent gliding are arranged on the underside of the cushion elementand/or the support element and/or the top side of the support element toprevent the different parts of the device to glide in respect of eachother, and/or of the device on the bed.

According to the invention is furthermore disclosed a clothing, such asan under-vest, a vest, a body-garment, a harness, and the like, whichcomprises ribbons or belts fixed on its back side as means for fasteningin fixation organs of a cushion according to the invention. It ispreferred for the fixation element to be in one piece and to be fixed tothe clothing in the lateral direction thereof in areas disposed at alevel beneath the arm pits. The fixation organ may be in one or twoparts. It is entirely feasible to arrange more than one fixation organ.

According to the invention is furthermore disclosed a clothing devicefor preventing a patient prone to snore from turning around in bed, thedevice being intended to be placed on a bed or an underlying mat orsimilar, preventing the patient from assuming a supine position butallowing the patient to move from one lateral position to the otherlateral position via an abdominal position, and vice-versa. Preferablythe device comprises a cushion with a central ridge and resting areasslanting from the central ridge towards the respective side of the bedor the underlying mat; the compressibility of the central ridge per unitarea when compressed 3 cm perpendicularly in respect of the bed or theunderlying mat is half or less of the corresponding compressibility ofthe resting areas. In addition, the device preferably comprises meanslimiting the freedom of movement of the upper part of the patient's bodyfor its fixation in relation to the device. It is preferred for themovement to be limited to about 180° (from one lateral position to theother lateral position).

It is also within the scope of the invention to arrange the fixationorgan so that the elements corresponding to the aforementioned free endsare firmly fixed in the tensioning element, while the fixation of thefixation organ at the patient's vest or other clothing can be loosenedand tensioned by corresponding fixation organs, for instance of Velcro™type being arranged on the clothing.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

The invention will now be explained in more detail by reference to apreferred embodiment shown in the accompanying sketchy drawing, inwhich:

FIG. 1 shows a device according to the invention for preventing a personfrom turning round in bed, with a patient resting in a right lateralposition with his/her head resting on it, in a view from above;

FIG. 2 shows the device of FIG. 1, with the patient in a right sideview;

FIG. 3 shows the device of FIG. 1, with the patient seen from the headof the bed and the pillow shown in section.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

In FIGS. 1-3 is shown a preferred cushion according to the invention forpreventing a person from turning round in bed, which is used by apatient 1 resting in a lateral position on a schematically drawn bed orresting area 5 and outstretched in the longitudinal direction of thebed. Then patient's head 2 rests on a cushion element or pillow 6 of thedevice which, in addition, comprises a rigid tensioning plate or element11 (its periphery indicated in FIG. 1 by a dashed line) and a supportelement 15 disposed between the tensioning plate 11 and the cushionelement 6. The tensioning plate 11 is releaseably fixed to the undersideof the support element 15 by means of Velcro™ fasteners 26, 29 indicatedin FIG. 1 by dashed lines. The cushion element 6 is made of polymer foamcut to size (polyurethane or similar) and substantially rectangular whenseen from above (FIG. 1), except for one of the laterally extendingcushion edges 7 which is concavely curved in relation to the foot sideof the bed facing it. In a transverse section (FIG. 3) the cushionelement 6 is shown to comprise a central ridge 8 and resting areas 9 and10 slanting from the central ridge 8 towards the lateral edges 9 and 10,respectively, of the bed. At the resting areas 9,10 the cushion element6 has cores 13, 14 which are more resiliently yielding than the centralridge 8. The cushion element 6 rests loosely against the support element15 but is fixed on it by a natural rubber lining 12 that preventsgliding of the element 6. The support element 15 is of lightconstruction in hard polystyrene foam.

The tensioning element 11 of rigid polycarbonate protrudes laterallyfrom the cushion element 6 with its sides facing the bed's edges 3,4,respectively; in the protruding end portions 17,18 are arrangedfastening slits or fixation organs 19, 20 which open towards the bed'sedges; in those slits the patient can releaseably fix the end portions21,22 of the respective halves of a fixation means such as a belt 23, 24which, in its central portion 30, is sewn to a vest or upper bodyclothing 25 carried by the patient as a bed dress. FIGS. 1 and 3evidence that the sewn area extends over substantially the entire widthof the back. In the Figures the belt is shown in a substantiallystretched condition by which the patient's freedom of movement (freedomof rotation) in a lateral direction is restricted in the mannerdescribed above. A tightly fitting but nevertheless comfortable vest,harness, and the like is required for a good function of the device.“Tightly fitting” implies a degree of fitting at which the central areaof the belt sewn to the clothing is not displaced considerably inrespect of the upper part of the body when the patient moves in bed.

What is claimed is:
 1. A device against snoring including sleep apnea,the device being of a kind preventing a patient (1) prone to snoring toassume a supine position but allowing the patient (1) to move betweenlateral positions, the device comprising a pillow which can bepositioned on the resting area (5) of a bed or other place for sleeping,the pillow comprising a pillow element (6) and a rigid tensioningelement (11) disposed between the pillow element (6) and the restingarea (5), the tensioning element (11) protruding laterally at both sidesof the pillow element (11) and comprising, on its protruding portions(17, 18), fixation organs (19, 20) in each of which one of two flexiblefixation means (23, 24) that are fastened on a upper body clothing (25)of the patient (1) are fixable by their free end portions (21, 22). 2.The device of claim 1, wherein the fixation means (23, 24) are fastenedat the clothing (25) in areas corresponding to left and right lateralportions, respectively, of the latissimus dorsi.
 3. The device of claim1, wherein the fixation means (23,24) can be fastened in the fixationorgans (19,20) in a manner allowing the length of the fixation means(23,24) portion clamped between the clothing (25) and the fixationorgans (19,20) to be varied.
 4. The device of claim 3, wherein theclamped length of the fixation means (23,24) is adjustable to allow thepatient (1) to move from one lateral position to the other lateralposition via an abdominal position but not via a supine position.
 5. Thedevice of claim 3, wherein the length of the fixation means (23,24) isadjustable to allow the patient to move from either lateral positiontowards an abdominal position but not towards a supine position.
 6. Thedevice of claim 1, wherein the cushion element (6) and the tensioningelement (11) are releaseably fixed to each other.
 7. The device of claim1, comprising a support element (15) disposed between the cushionelement (6) and the tensioning element (11).
 8. The device of claim 1,wherein the cushion comprises a central ridge (8) extending in thelongitudinal direction of the bed and resting areas (9,10) slanting fromthe central ridge (8) towards the respective side of the cushion.
 9. Thedevice of claim 8, wherein the, pillow resting areas (9,10) slant in anangle from 5° to 20° in respect of the resting area of the bed (5). 10.The device of claim 1, wherein the fixation means (23,24) are selectedfrom bands, ribbons, tapes, and belts (23,24).
 11. The device of claim1, wherein the fixation organs are selected from slits (19,20), clamps,snap locks, buckles, and hook and loop tapes.
 12. The device of claim 1,wherein the upper body clothing (25) is selected from under-vests,vests, body-garments, and harnesses.
 13. The device of claim 1, whereinmeans for preventing gliding (12) are arranged on the underside of thepillow element (6) and/or the support element (15) and/or the top sideof the support element (15) to prevent gliding between different partsof the device and/or of the device on the resting area (5).
 14. Aclothing, such as an under-vest, vest, body-garment, harness, and thelike, comprising fixation means (23, 24) according to claim 1 fastenedon its back side (at 30).
 15. A device for use by a patient prone tosnore (1), the device being intended to be placed on a bed or underlyingmat, the device preventing the patient (1) from assuming a supineposition but allowing the patient (1) to move from one lateral positionto the other lateral position, and vice-versa, the device comprising apillow with a central ridge (8) and pillow resting areas (9,10) slantingfrom the ridge (8) in the direction of the bed's side edges or the sidesof the underlying mat, wherein the compressibility of the central ridge(8) per unit area by 3 cm perpendicular to the resting area (5) of thebed is half or less of the corresponding compressibility of the pillowresting areas (9,10).
 16. The device of claim 15, comprising means formovement-limiting fixation of the patient's (1) upper body portion inrelation to the device.
 17. The device of claim 16, wherein the movementis limited to turning by about 180°.
 18. The device of claim 15,comprising means for movement-limiting fixation of the patient's (1)upper body portion in relation to the device.
 19. The device of claim18, wherein the movement is limited to turning by about 180°.